RUMORS that major Chinese websites will start charging for the downloading of music in 2013 have yet to be substantiated currently. Music lovers can still download music for free from websites like Baidu.com, QQ.com and Kugou.com.

Many netizens are relieved that this has not yet been confirmed. Some had been trying to hoard as many songs as possible before the Dec. 31 “deadline.”

But for music professionals, it means that they still have to wait until they can claim the royalties they feel they deserve.

According to a recent survey by Sina.com, about 83 percent of Chinese netizens do not want to pay for downloading music. A whole generation has grown up listening to music for free since the Internet made it possible.

There are very few places where you can still buy CDs, either original or pirated. The norm now is just to click on your computer or mobile phone and the music will play.

It seems that not many people are aware that music doesn’t come from nowhere, but is made by professionals who devote their lives to making music. They hope to receive proceeds from their work, which supports them to continue to make music.

The free sharing of music, on the contrary, has largely made music recording a charitable enterprise. As a result, many record labels have closed down in recent years.

There is a theory that the music industry’s loss in recordings has been compensated by an increase in live performances. But songwriting, which is the foundation of the music business, is not encouraged under the current system. And without it, there won’t be momentum for the development of the art.

There has already been progress compared to five years ago, when artists and production companies got practically nothing from websites who offered free downloads. Now most major websites pay some fees to the copyright owners. But that fee is obviously not enough to sustain the music industry. Little original and exciting music was created in China in the last decade compared to the previous one, although cheap-sounding works made through amateur computer software are flourishing.

There is another problem with the current model of websites paying royalties with advertising proceeds, and netizens downloading music for free: In the long run, it will not be ourselves who decide what we hear, but the major websites.

It is unclear when payable music downloading will be put into practice in China. The negotiation between music content holders and websites may take some time, but how to balance the interests of different parties is just a technical question. It is widely thought to be inevitable that those who download music off the Internet will be charged. (SD-Agencies)